Angel 24

By Bob Fox

A Christian Historical, Supernatural Fantasy Thriller

The founding of the 1607 Jamestown Colony as it has never been told: From the viewpoint of angels and demons

Angel 24 is the story of Scion, a powerful angel who was emotionally damaged in the Great Rebellion in heaven. Now, he has been assigned to protect the Jamestown Colony from the wicked schemes of his former best friend!

Angel 24 has:
~A deep, biblical worldview illustrated with many scriptures and a strong, global mission focus.
~Rich, historical details, based on a well-documented Christian history book on the Jamestown Colony: Healing America’s DNA—also by Bob Fox.
~The true account of Paquiquino—a Powhatan native who changed the history of America!
~A Christian rendition of the love story of Pocahontas and Captain John Smith
~The simmering conflict between rebel dark angels, and the demons they spawned to serve them.
~The unlikely partnership between a 14-inch, female angel named Angie, a defective demon called Morph and a jealous, dark angel named Voudoc—all colluding to defeat Okeus, the god of the Powhatan tribes at Jamestown.

The Past Is Prologue
Although based in history and fiction, Angel 24 is about America today. Angel 24 dramatically illustrates the power of sin to destroy and the power of repentance to give life as II Chron. 7:14 declares:

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Sin almost destroyed Jamestown. Sin is again destroying America— but there is a way to heal the land.

This book can give much hope to Christians that God will heal the brokenness of America when His people humble themselves in prayer, seek His face and repent for their sins and for the sins of America.

Angel 24 is a book for such a time as this.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bob Fox
• Release date: Aug 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005702847

Book preview

PROLOGUE

Angels were everywhere.

Thousands of six-foot choir angels swirled above the fiery Throne of God in an ever-expanding cone of concentric circles, moving in opposing, alternating directions as high as the eye could see. Faces of brown, black, yellow, and white spun together in a blur of light and motion. Their childlike shouts of joy and ringing peals of laughter formed a contagious counterpoint to the massive choruses of praise echoing everywhere across the vast expanse of heaven.

Just below that whirlwind of worship, a rippling, iridescent rainbow arched regally over the Throne. Lightning and thunderous staccato bass voices shot up into the angelic cone from the throats of eight-foot, golden-headed Cherubim and Seraphim as they soared up and down its center, adding a complex vocal drumbeat to the rhythm of the rotating choir.

All around them, watchful and majestic, a hundred thousand fierce, ten-foot Warrior Angels with faces like burning bronze lined the walls of heaven—wings furled, arms akimbo, massive swords at the ready. Multitudes of six-foot angels sped past them, racing out of Heaven’s Gates, headed for Earth with assignments to serve the saints.

It had not always been that way.

Once, there were no huge Warrior Angels or swords in heaven—just one hundred eighty thousand, unarmed, six-foot angels to serve the Court of Heaven. They all lived in great contentment, enjoying one another and the incredible pleasures of heaven. Although they were male angels, their love for one another was stronger, deeper, and purer than any human couple could ever know.

But, just as God decided to make Adam and Eve, eighty thousand beautiful angels disappeared in a way no angel could have ever foreseen.

The Great Rebellion

When Lucifer rebelled against God, the Lord had no choice but to cast Lucifer and sixty thousand of his rebel angels out of heaven. Lucifer called it The Great Emancipation. Heaven remembers it as the Great Rebellion. Twenty thousand loyal angels died in the fierce battle to protect heaven. The sixty thousand rebels became Lucifer’s Dark Angels. God’s loyal one hundred thousand angels lost their best friends, closest companions and comrades-in-arms . . . forever!

TheGreat Grief immediately followed the Great Rebellion. God himself grieved for centuries for the loss of eighty thousand beloved sons.

For hundreds of years, this Great Grief muffled the joy of heaven. Angel poets later wrote that God and the angels flooded Earth with their tears of sadness during the Great Flood in Noah’s time.

Shortly after the Great Rebellion, the Lord restructured heaven for war. God transformed most of his six-foot angels into ten-foot-tall giants with formidable physiques and long, sharp swords. These became the Warrior Angels in the Host of Heaven, the ones who now protect heaven under Archangel Michael’s leadership. God also established a War Room where Michael and his angelic staff would coordinate heaven’s plans against Lucifer’s Dark Angels. At roughly the same time, Lucifer somehow spawned billions of evil spirits to resist God’s work among humans. These satanic creatures would later be called demons.

But after thousands of years of vicious combat between the Host of Heaven and Lucifer’s evil empire for control of humanity, God revealed his ultimate solution to rescue mankind: God would send his Son, Jesus, to destroy Satan’s wicked works on Earth!

The angels were ecstatic! But God knew there were not enough of them to do what needed to be done.

So, God created billions of new angels to serve the vast throngs of people who would soon become disciples of Jesus. Their angelic assignments varied according to the needs of each believer. Sometimes, these ministering angels passed messages to a Christian from the Holy Spirit in a vision or dream. Even the human parents of Jesus experienced that. At other times, the angels guided believers away from danger in ways that were usually unnoticeable. Most of the time, however, these angels just brought the presence of heaven to followers of Jesus when they needed God’s comfort and encouragement. Believers who risked their lives for the Gospel usually had a steady stream of these angelic messengers serving their needs.

These new angels were called Alpha Angels. They are all six-foot-tall, handsome males with glowing skin in stunning shades of black, brown, beige, yellow and red. Their eyes sparkled in hues of brown, green, blue and grey framed by shoulder-length platinum hair and wings whose feathers perfectly matched their skin color. Even though they carry no swords, these muscular Alphas look formidable in flight with massive, twelve-foot wingspans and glistening white full-length robes cinched at the waist with a wide, golden belt.

At the same time, the Lord created six million Beta Scout Angels to monitor the movements of Satan’s forces. Betas are small and hard to detect by the enemy. They range in size from fourteen to eighteen inches. However, God equipped them with the most powerful visual and auditory sensors any angel has ever had.

To the surprise of every angel in heaven, God made all Betas female—the first ever in heaven. Most Alphas were somewhat shocked when they heard it. They were even more stunned when God allowed the new Betas to change the color and arrangement of their hair, clothes and wings as often as they desired. An older Alpha openly complained to Jesus, "But, Lord, we have never had angels like that. It’s just a little embarrassing to have them called angels. They are so different from us. Jesus just laughed as He put his arm around the frowning angel and quipped, Just wait. You will thank Me later." The angle left—but his frown didn’t.

To train all those new angels for service in the Earth war zone, God created Angel Academy. After six months of intense training, each angel would be released to serve the saints on Earth. Every angel could hardly wait for the day when they would serve and protect God’s people from demonic temptations and attacks.

After God created all his new angels, He did one more thing to help the saints defeat the wicked schemes of Lucifer—He saved one continent for Christians for thousands of years. From that continent, the Lord planned to launch His final assault on Lucifer, whom He now called Satan.

So, in the 1500s of earth time, God led Great Britain to start a colony of Christians on that previously hidden continent. God intended to use this new settlement to birth a nation unlike any other—a nation that would help vast numbers of people from all over the globe make it to heaven.

To protect this special colony, God picked a special angel—but one that the other angels would never have chosen.

Angel 24.

CHAPTER 1

12,000 BC

Deep in the frigid, inky fringes of the universe, a dazzling, golden angel sped past a pale, red planet as he furiously wrote in a notebook. He was measuring the rate of expansion of the universe at its outer limits. His mind tried to focus on the final complex mathematical measurements he was making, but a checklist of personal needs kept nagging him for attention.

This angel was one of twenty-four prototype angels being trained to become heaven’s first archangels to serve Earth. Although this flight was just a class exercise, the platinum-haired scout knew he had to do his very best. After all, Lucifer, the Headmaster of Archangel Academy, had personally chosen him for this challenging task. He also wanted to look his very best when reporting his findings to Lucifer, so he was wearing a new pair of shoes he had just borrowed from Kai, his best friend at the Academy.

Now, after a week of hard work far from heaven, he was eager to finish the last few measurements and return to heaven. Just before he left on this mission, Kai, had nervously confided to him that Lucifer was planning a big surprise for heaven. Kai was not allowed to say what it was—just that heaven would never forget it. Now, even in the four-hundred-and-fifty-four-degrees-below-zero vacuum of space, the lone angel felt warm all over just imagining the excitement and fun that surprise would be. Lucifer was famous for being bold and creative. No angel had ever planned to surprise all of heaven. This is going to be spectacular!

But there was something about how Kai acted that still puzzled Scion. He has never seen Kai so passionate. When he told him about Lucifer’s surprise plans, Scion noticed that Kai’s hands trembled a little, and his eyes filled with tears. Stranger still, just before Kai left him, he hugged Scion so tightly and for so long that Scion almost felt embarrassed. Then Kai suddenly flew off, looking back with that smile of love Scion always treasured. All Scion could think now was, Wow! That was different. Kai was so emotional! Whatever it is, I can’t miss it. I must get this done and get back to heaven, the golden scout vowed to himself just as he completed the last steps of a mission no other student had wanted.

Who could blame them? The assignment required that an angel go to the very edge of the universe for an entire week alone and be out of contact with other angels the entire time. Like every other student at Archangel Academy, Scion didn’t want to be alone in deep space that long. But when Lucifer personally asked him to do it, his love for the Headmaster made him say yes. But now he was finished.

I can finally go home to that fantastic surprise Lucifer is planning, he sighed into the darkness. He glanced at Kai’s gleaming white shoes one more time and then at the pulsating edge of creation just yards away. A wide smile filled his face.

Just as he turned around to head back to heaven, he saw three Sentinel angels speeding toward him. Sentinels were usually the quiet, introverted types who silently stood guard over remote sectors of the universe. But as the trio drew closer, Scion saw that something was terribly wrong. Terror covered the faces of each angel.

"Treason! Treason! the three shouted to Scion. Lucifer has gone mad. He is leading a rebellion against the Lord, and many angels are following him. Come at once. General Michael has ordered everyone to return to heaven and fight off the rebels."

As the terrified Sentinels sped off to alert others across the cosmos, Scion froze with a fear that no angel had ever felt. He had recently shared a Throne Room secret with Lucifer that had visibly upset Lucifer— but Scion thought Lucifer would get over it. But now this!

Scion suddenly felt dizzy. His shaking hands dropped the notebook. His heart raced. His body felt almost limp. With a cry of Nooooooo! the huge angel dove toward the surface of the dark planet faster than he had ever flown. But a few thousand feet into his descent, he suddenly passed out. His body tumbled head over heels into the planet’s surface, slicing through the hot, volcanic crust with such force that his body did not stop until it finally splashed into the fiery, molten core, ten thousand miles underground.

Light years away, all hell was breaking out in heaven. The once glorious choirmaster of heaven was enraged with wounded pride. He was screaming curses and savagely slicing through dozens of angels with one swipe of his eight-foot sword. His once brilliant blue eyes were now fiery black with hate. Thousands of rebel angels swarmed around him, fighting for him with a fury never seen before in heaven. Angels were being butchered by old friends. Angel wings, arms, and heads flew everywhere as twenty thousand unarmed, loyal angels were beheaded and dismembered by their fellow angels. The hideous, rhythmic sounds of death exploded all across heaven : a cry for mercy—then thwack—a scream of terror—thwack—a surprised shout of the attacker’s name—thwack…thwack…thwack. The swords of death hacked down the unarmed angelic ranks with monstrous precision.

When the attack began, the emotions and bodies of the loyal angels were frozen with shock for a moment. Then their eyes exploded with terror while their bodies trembled and shook— faster and harder until they could not stand as waves of hideously howling, cursing angels raced toward them. None of the innocent angels had weapons—or the desire to fight their friends. Then, as if on some invisible cue, a cloudburst of tears erupted from the horrified eyes of the helpless victims. Like lambs led to the slaughter, they died with no resistance.

But all was not lost. The Four Living Creatures who guarded God’s Throne Room shot into heaven’s blue canopy, high above the battle. Each Creature had six wings and enormous bodies completely covered with eyes. They moved like lightning above the battlefield, seeing everything and giving rapid-fire orders to General Michael and his army of Cherubim and Seraphim warrior angels. None of them had swords. They had something better.

As Lucifer and his sixty thousand rebels pushed forward toward the Throne of God, the Four Living Creatures guided Michael to array the remaining hundred thousand angels in sixty-four concentric rows encircling the Throne of God. Six-winged Seraphim took their positions at the front while Cherubim stationed themselves in the rear ranks. Then all were in place, Michael’s voice rang out like a deafening trumpet call to battle, Worship!

Instantly, the surviving angels fought back their tears of shock, grief and anger and began to worship, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, Who was and Who is and Who is to come. Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will, they existed and were created. The piercing staccato blasts of many golden trumpets released a powerful anointing that appeared like a glistening, golden blanket floating down on the weeping worshippers.

Then, the air suddenly became electrified with the unseen Presence of Almighty God. Lucifer and his rebels halted for a second as they felt the atmosphere shift. An instant later, Lucifer roared defiantly and charged the Throne even more ferociously.

As the rebels came within three hundred feet of God’s Throne, they raised their swords for the final, vicious assault on the worshipping angels surrounding the Throne. The Seraphim on the front ranks were now so close to the rebels that they could recognize former friends, former teammates in games, and former choir members—their faces now contorted with evil, their voices screaming curses.

It was over in an instant. Michael shouted, Fire! and six thousand Seraphim angels—whose name means burning ones—shot a wall of white-hot flames one thousand feet high out of their eyes and mouths. Lucifer and his rebels slammed into each other as they fell to the golden streets of heaven just before hitting the deadly ring of fire. Now Lucifer knew He would never reach the Throne. With a hideous, animalistic roar of rage, Lucifer commanded his army to retreat to Earth. Michael’s army pursued them until they reached the upper atmosphere of the new, blue planet.

The Great Rebellion had begun.

CHAPTER 2

It was just an ordinary day in heaven.

Thousands of gold filigree crosses glistened on the horizon of the shimmering teal sky. Yesterday, the sky had been a pale yellow with shades of peacock blue and raspberry red edges. Multicolored words in ever-changing languages slowly glided across the sky. Each word twirled and bounced to the different rhythms of the songs that were being sung by different groups of saints as the words passed over them. Jesus Is Lord, God Is Our Savior, Glory to God in the Highest. The words moved with easy dignity as they hovered right over a group of Scandinavians, singing with great gusto. But, as usual, the sky-words spun into a blur as they drifted over the passionate dancing of African worshippers. Heaven was constantly and gloriously alive with worship.

The very atmosphere of heaven was saturated with a sense of love, joy, and peace, far beyond anything possible on Earth. The Presence of God radiated from The Great White Throne in waves of glory that made redeemed humanity giddy with delight every day. No one was immune. King David himself loved to greet the astonished new arrivals from Earth, shouting and leaping in dance, See, I told you so! ‘In his Presence is the fullness of joy!’ The cheers of welcoming saints were always deafening.

On this particular day, a river of purple, pink, and red dahlias bobbed their heads in the breeze along the golden sidewalk as throngs of families walked and laughed in a lush green park frequented by Jewish believers.

Near a towering sycamore tree, a Jewish family of three stopped and gathered around a ten-foot statue. Wide circles of hot-pink stargazer lilies, purple hydrangeas, brilliant yellow daffodils, and red begonias carpeted the ground around the magnificent sculpture. The fragrance of white camellias and red roses also filled the air. Children nearby giggled as bluebirds swished through the magnolia trees near the pond, dodging stingerless bees filled with nectar, headed home to honey-filled hives. Yes—a very ordinary day for a family walk in a city park.

But this city is anything but ordinary.

Deep in the endless darkness of the cosmos, the walls of this city sparkle like crystal-clear jasper—a perfectly square jewel radiating brilliant rainbows of God’s glory in every direction. Each side of the city is fifteen hundred miles long, with massive walls fifteen hundred miles high and two hundred feet wide at the base. Twelve gates, each made of one gigantic pearl, are the only entrances. Each gate is five hundred miles apart from the others. The name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel is engraved above each gate. Precious, multicolored gems form the foundation of the walls. They glisten with a brilliance that pierces the cosmic darkness for millions of miles.

Within the fifteen-hundred-mile-high walls are fifteen hundred levels, one level every mile above the bottom level. Each level contains an entire heavenscape covering the length and breadth of heaven, like the floors of a king’s castle. God’s Throne is in the center of the top-level, where he meets each believer as they arrive in heaven through the middle East Gate. This is also where the new arrivals see their family members for the first the time in heaven. No one ever forgets that glorious and highly emotional scene.

From there, an angel escorts each saint to their eternal home on one of the lower heavenscapes. Only angels, the Twenty-four Elders, and a few select saints live on the top floor of heaven. Everyone else may choose whichever other heavenscape they desire. Most prefer to live where it is always 72 degrees with low humidity. Others choose heavenscapes with towering, snowy mountains or lush tropical beaches. Because there are so many beautiful places in heaven, many citizens change locations every fifteen hundred years just for a change of scenery and weather. Angels have noticed that those who moved around a lot on Earth tend to change heavenscapes more often. Some American military families even move every three years—just like on Earth! Variety and freedom are two of heaven’s most popular features.

There is never a housing shortage. Billions of exquisite homes for the faithful followers of Jesus cover every heavenscape below the top level. A hundred and forty-four billion miles of pure gold roads connect each home to all other parts of heaven. Since fatigue is unknown in heaven and it never gets dark, the saints usually visit their neighbors just by walking on those golden roads. Long-distances can be travelled simply by thinking about the destination. In an instant, the residents can go to any place in heaven. It is common to see visitors from even one thousand heavenscapes away suddenly appear for a short visit to a friend or relative. In fact, deep, satisfying fellowship with generations of family members and saints from Old and New Testament times consumes most of the time in heaven. As any angel will be quick to tell you, everything in heaven is about relationships.

Unlike Earth, heaven has neither sun nor night. The light of God illuminates all of heaven with a brightness and clarity never seen on Earth. Plants, animals, angels, and humans all radiate a soft, golden light. Heaven also has no clouds, no rain, and no sea. But a large river of pure water runs steadily from God’s Throne through all fifteen hundred heavenscapes. The river replenishes the lakes, ponds, and streams in heaven’s magnificent parks.—which are everywhere in heaven.

Each park is different and unbelievably gorgeous—vast areas of the greenest grass, the most fragrant flowers, and trees with delicious fruit always in season. The small ponds in the parks are filled with colorful, glowing fish of every shape imaginable. Animals from every continent on Earth also freely roam these green meadows, but remarkably, they do not need to eat anything. Usually, all the animals live in the parks, but every child who comes to heaven without their parents is allowed to have two animals as personal pets in their homes. Koala bears and lions are always the first to be picked!

In a word, heaven is—well—heavenly.

Look, Papa! Look, Mama, the raven-haired seven-year-old boy exclaimed. It’s Moses!

Like all the statuary in heaven, the tall statue of Moses was solid gold and yet translucent, shining from within with a soft yellow light that grew brighter when people prayed or worshipped nearby.

This statue of Moses shows him standing with his hands lifted in prayer. The engraving at the bottom read: And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people. (Exodus 32:14)

The father smiled at his curious son. Yes, Ari. Moses is the founder of our people, and he led God’s people to the Promised Land, so that Jesus could be born there one day.

Ari furrowed his brow in confusion. But Papa, why did God want to bring evil on his people? I thought God loves the Jews.

He did, Ari. God graciously rescued them from four hundred years of slavery in Egypt with many great miracles. That was a promise God made to Abraham long before Moses. God even parted the Red Sea for them to cross over to escape the Egyptian army. But then, when Moses was on the mountain getting the Ten Commandments from God, many Jews decided to abandon God and instead, worship the statue of a calf! This was the greatest sin they could commit against their God who had just rescued them from Egypt with many miracles. Because of their extreme and stubborn rebellion, God was going to punish them severely— even though he loved them dearly. But God changed his mind! the father said with a big smile.

Ari’s eyes grew wide. Papa, why would God change his mind? God knows everything. He cannot make mistakes.

"Because Moses pleaded with God not to judge Israel. Moses did something the Bible calls ‘standing in the gap.’ Moses stood in the gap before God and pleaded with God to forgive the great sin of our people. And God listened to Moses! By standing in the gap, Moses saved Israel. I know it is hard to believe, but people can actually change God’s mind sometimes. He loves us that much!"

Wow, Papa, I want to go to the Great Library tomorrow and read about that.

Suddenly, three angels swooped out of the sky, laughing and shouting, Look out below! as they dove toward the startled Jewish family. Ari tried to run away, but he tripped and fell, skinning his knee. His parents ducked to avoid a collision with the reckless trio.

What in heaven’s name—? the father fumed. They almost hit us!

But the raucous laughter and swoosh of wings disappeared as fast as they had burst upon them. The three tricksters had accelerated into a high-speed climb. They were very late for class at Angel Academy.

CHAPTER 3

Angel Academy stood tall and serene on a low hill on the top floor of heaven. The flat plateau was in the middle of a long, oblong island surrounded by the river that flows from God’s Throne just north of there. It was known as Angel Island. Majestic, tall trees lined the banks of the island. They are the Trees of Life. Each month, the angels harvest a new crop of succulent, reddish-yellow fruit to share with the saints. There was always enough. Jesus would come each month to multiply whatever the angels gathered so that billions of saints and angels could each have a taste. Once a year, when heaven celebrated the Resurrection of the Lamb, the archangels guarding Earth’s continents would gather leaves from the Trees of Life to help heal the nations they protected.

For almost sixteen hundred Earth years, the new angels created by God have come to Angel Academy for six months of training to serve God’s people on earth. If the angels failed to graduate, they could retake the class. If they failed the second time, they could never qualify for a coveted Earth assignment. Instead, they would be limited to strictly administrative duties, mainly archiving and indexing billions of life records for each human in the Great Library—a job every angel dreaded. Angels knew they were made for adventure!

Angel Academy is beautiful. Its pink granite spires jut into the deep blue sky. The massive, golden front door faces due north to bask in the direct light of God’s Throne. Dazzling stained-glass windows wrap the entire circumference of its gem-studded walls.

From above, the academy looks like a giant cross. The vast, rectangular part of the building contains twenty-four spacious classrooms splayed out on all three floors, eight classrooms on each floor. A central hall that runs the length of the academy from north to south, connecting each classroom. Full-color, detailed maps of every major city on Earth are embedded in the sky blue floors of the massive complex. To further orient the students to their future worksite, three-dimensional, high-definition images of Earth’s geography floated next to the ceiling of each classroom.

Near the front of the building and perpendicular to the classroom halls, two enormous wings of offices bracket the academy. These wings house the offices for the six archangels of Earth’s six continents. Heaven counts the continents as Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, North America, and AFO (Australia/Frozen South Lands/Ocean Islands).

Archangels serve under General Michael to oversee all the Alpha and Beta angels assigned to that continent. They also teach three weeks of classes in each six-month cycle. The head of the academy and guest speakers teach the remaining weeks. Only angels are allowed as guest speakers.

But one archangel office is empty. General Michael has not yet chosen the Archangel of North America. But that is about to change.

Today, the hallways of the academy buzzed with chatter. Rumors were out that the Archangel of North America was about to be announced! To many students, their Headmaster seemed like the perfect choice—and for obvious reasons.

Scion had been Headmaster of Angel Academy since it opened shortly after the Great Rebellion. He was one of the few remaining prototype angels—some of the largest and most powerful angels in heaven. No one ever forgot about meeting him.

He stood twelve feet tall with a burly barrel chest and arms as thick as the thighs of most angels. But despite his size, he also very fast. His pearly-white, twenty-four-foot wings propelled him faster than all but the fastest warrior angels.

Besides his formidable physique, Scion was unusually handsome. Beneath his shoulder-length platinum hair, piercing ice-blue eyes and long, straight nose, a firm jaw jutted out slightly. His good looks were legendary among the female student angels. One Beta requested a transfer to Scion’s class from her current class. The administrator asked why. Without a moment’s hesitation, the little Beta responded enthusiastically, "Have you seen him?"

Despite all that, Scion never tried to draw attention to himself. He could have worn a chest-full of angelic badges for his long service to the Lord, but he wore none. His only piece of jewelry was a small silver pendant on a chain around his neck. Oddly enough, he was always barefoot. No one quite knew why—or dared to ask why.

But what made him unique more than anything else was his skin. In heaven, all angels and humans glow softly. But when Scion worshipped, his light golden skin shone so brightly that other angels had to shield their eyes. It was a quirk of his makeup that Scion often regretted because it embarrassed him in worship services.

Scion did have one obvious weakness. Although he knew he was greatly respected, he didn’t feel comfortable in close relationships. He was always all business. Taking time to just relax with other angels was never on his checklists—and he had lots of checklists, most of them full of rules.

Student angels were acutely aware that Headmaster Scion was a stickler for rules. Few ever dared to test him on that—especially when his emotions were less than joyful. Some days, he appeared sad. On rare occasions, he had panic attacks which frightened his students. Most angels suspected that Scion had suffered a painful trauma—but no one knew what—and no one took the risk to ask him.

Today was a down day for Scion. His legs felt heavy as he walked with his head down, lost in thought. "Aaaaaah, another day— here we go," he muttered as he approached the large, ornate door of the academy. It had only been two months since a new class of angels started at the academy, and this bunch was proving to be quite rowdy. Nothing I can’t handle, he thought, but I hate conflict. Why can’t we all just get along?

As Scion pushed the door open, he heard a noise. He looked over his shoulder just in time to see three of his most unmotivated students flying too low and frightening a family in the nearby park—a family he knew. His right hand tightened into a fist as he gritted his teeth.

Stop that and get to class! Scion yelled as the students flew closer. More conflict, just great, he fumed to himself.

Nacham, the ringleader, grabbed his two friends, Stanis and Thomas, and the three quickly touched down in front of Scion at the front door. They knew they were in trouble.

Well, boys, nice to see that you had time to come to class today. But the look on Scion’s face was anything but welcoming. You know what this means. This is your third time being late for class, Scion scolded.

They all hung their heads. Yes, Master Scion, they responded in unison.

You are not even halfway through, but now you will all have to repeat the entire course. If you fail to graduate one more time, you will be disqualified from ever receiving an assignment to Earth. A pained look darkened their faces.

But we were just having fun, Master Scion! Nacham shouted. Don’t you know what fun is? Give us a break!

Scion shook his head. I’m sorry, boys. You’ve made your choices, and I am compelled by the rules to dismiss you from the academy. If you cannot keep the rules here in a school, what will you do when human lives depend on your obedience on Earth? Clean out your desks and report back to your base to await further instructions. And before you leave the area, apologize to that Jewish family. I know them. They have already suffered enough on Earth at the hands of Roman soldiers. And now you scare them with your childish pranks!

As the three downcast angels trudged inside to retrieve their personal items, Nacham suddenly turned, ran back and dropped on his knees before Scion. He looked up at the scowling headmaster with tears in his eyes. I know I don’t deserve it, Master Scion, but please forgive me. Please forgive my friends, too. I will never be late for class again. I will come early and stay late. I was wrong for scaring that family. Please allow me to finish with this class. I want to serve the saints on Earth as soon as possible! In fact, I’ve always wanted to serve the Jewish saints in Israel and protect them in every way! Nacham pleaded sheepishly.

Scion looked at the young angel for a long moment, and his face softened. "Israel. Jews. Hmm. Nice try, Nacham. If that’s true, you picked the wrong family to frighten today.

I’m sorry, Nacham. Rules are rules. Believe me, I know what happens when you break the rules. Rules protect you. They protect others. Without rules, all kinds of things would happen that should not happen. When you get more experienced, you will understand the need to do things by the book—as I have.

Just then, little Ari ran up to Scion and Nacham. Sir Angel, my dad wants me to tell you something.

Scion smiled and got down on one knee. Sure, son. What did your father say?

My dad says he forgives the angels, and he wants you to forgive them if they say they are sorry.

Turning sideways, Scion looked over at Ari’s father, who was waving at him. Scion grimaced and shook his head to tell the father he could not do that.

Turning back to the boy, Scion put his hulking hand on the boy’s head and said, I know it is hard to understand, but rules must be obeyed.

Just as he was to stand up, the boy’s father came walking up to them. Greetings, most honored angel. I am Ari’s father. Could I have a word with you?

Of course, my brother. I am honored to meet one such as you. I remember you telling me that you actually saw the Lord on Earth.

For a moment, Ari’s dad gazed at the kneeling student, then looked back to Scion and said, Yes, I was about Ari’s age when I saw Jesus. I will never forget the compassion he showed for others. I once saw him give a woman a great gift—a gift even he was reluctant to give.

What woman? What gift, dear brother?

"You remember—the Syrophoenician mother whose daughter had a demon. At that time in his ministry, Jesus said he was allowed to help only his people, the Jews. But, when this non-Jewish woman humbly begged Jesus to help her daughter, Jesus broke his own rule and gave her what she asked for. You should have seen the look on the mother’s face when Jesus did that."

Looking a little confused, Scion mumbled, Yes—brother, that is a beautiful story.

"Yes, it is, Great Angel. And that statue of Moses over there reminds me of how God changed his mind about killing all the Jews when they worshipped the golden calf. Moses asked God to give them a second chance—and he did." Again, the father looked at the heart-broken angel kneeling near Scion.

Scion was speechless. As the father smiled and began to walk away, Scion pulled little Ari close and whispered to him, I have a secret mission for you, little man. Later on, when you get home, tell your dad that he changed the life of one angel who scared your family. I will give him another chance even though he broke the rules.

Wow! I’ve got a secret to tell my dad! Ari yelled as he ran over to his smiling father and grabbed his leg.

As Ari and his father walked away, Scion turned to the Nacham and lifted him upright. I assume you heard all that. I want you to know that you will be the first angel I have ever allowed to break academy rules and avoid the penalty. But anyone who can repent like you just did can become a great angel. I want to help you be that angel. Welcome back to class, Nacham!

Oh, thank you, sir! Thank you, sir, Nacham shouted as he hugged the wide waist of Scion’s twelve-foot torso.

That will do, Nacham, Scion said half-jokingly. Now you are scaring me. Please go to class. You are late, so you will have to sit in the back near that little Beta who perches on the windowsill. I’m teaching on something very significant today.

Yes, sir. I think you mean that Beta named Angel 442. She’s so much fun, Nacham grinned.

And Nacham. About Stanis and Thomas—your two friends—I’ll do whatever I can to make sure they complete the next class and get an earth assignment—if they apologize to that family. Tell them that.

Nacham disappeared into the building, just ahead of Scion, hollering with joy. Scion smiled. Today was going to be a good day after all.

CHAPTER 4

Earth Date: September 10, 1561

As Scion entered the academy, the massive building hummed with the energy of fifty thousand angels waiting for their instructors to arrive. In every enormous classroom, plush, blue-padded, stadium-type seating sloped down from the high ceiling in the back of the room toward a small podium centered in front of a large screen where three-dimensional images would appear to illustrate the main points of each lecture.

Scion entered the classroom and moved toward the podium. Instantly, silence filled the room. Good morning, class. As you know, I am your instructor today. I am sorry to be late, but some of your classmates needed . . . uh . . . help.

A few subdued snickers embedded in fake coughs broke the stillness. Many students had seen the near-collision in the park through the tall wall-to-wall windows. Most, however, looked soberly on the two empty seats formerly assigned to Stanis and Thomas. They knew what that meant. Meanwhile, Nacham eagerly moved to sit near the window. A tiny but beautiful angel next to him eyed him skeptically. She had witnessed his earlier antics.

Scion cleared his throat and said, "As Headmaster of Angel Academy, it is my privilege to oversee the instruction of all newly created angels here at Angel Academy. I hope you are enjoying your new life here in heaven and learning much from the other classes you have been taking over the past months. Your regular instructors tell me that you are a bright and promising class. So, let’s get right to work so that you can graduate on time. I know you are all eager for that first Earth assignment!

"Class, you all have probably heard that many of the saints in Europe have been falling into terrible sins due to the violence against each other since 1520.* Most of the sins have been committed by our Catholic saints who have been harshly persecuting the new Protestant saints.* I know it’s hard to believe but Catholics have actually killed tens of thousands of Protestants since the Protestant Reformation began in 1517*. Catholics have even burned some Protestants alive simply for not agreeing with Catholic teachings.*

Fortunately, there are signs of hope in France. The Edict of Orleans has stopped the persecution of Protestant French Huguenots as of last January 28.* Then, on April 19, the King of France issued the Edict of Fontainebleau, calling for peace between the two groups.* Despite that, however, many French Catholic leaders continue to punish anyone who leaves the Catholic Church.

"Of course, God always knew these terrible times would come to his children due to their sins. Because of the great suffering of his Protestant sons and daughters in Europe, the Lord has decreed that he will soon open a new land for them where they may find peace and safety. That’s why he set aside an entire continent thousands of years ago as a place of refuge for them. The Lord plans to establish a spiritual fortress in that new continent for the spread of his Kingdom through Protestants. And, as you have